Cinelli Integralter

You need to find a way of keeping the star nut in position when you drill out the threaded part. There is a good chance that the drill will bite into the threads and the nut will spin with drill, which will then cut through the fibres and knacker the bore of the steerer.

I have to be honest with you here. If that steerer has always had a star nut in it then that part of the steerer could well be compromised, structurally, and you might not be able to see it by eye. It would be a very good idea to get it tested, if you really want to keep it, but it is probably best to just buy another fork which has had a better life, or is brand new.

Thanks for the advice, the things you learn every day.

Thoughts…?

Hard to tell from the pic but i guess that is the outside of the top of the steerer?

That vertical feature is either a fracture, or maybe a seam from a mould?. Depends how the steerer has been made, but i thought carbon steerers are tubes and not made in moulds. Anyway; if is has been made in a mould then the mould line will run the full length of the steerer. If it is only local to where the star nut has been then there is a good chance it is a fracture and it is time to chop that bit off, for a smaller frame.

My advice is buy a new fork. You really do not want to ride wondering what is going there and you really do not want the stem to come free if the bike!. Time to get a new mechanic, or teach yourself, i think and you will get a ton of help from people here .

Give it a go and before you know it, you might be building your own wheels

I did the carbo tap test with an old lira coin and there was a dull thud in the spot. Says it all I suppose.

You can't rely on a tap test anyway. If the star nut is still in the steerer that will change the frequency of the tube and you also need a tube that is 100% ok, to comapre against. Pretty sure that due to the nature of the material you would struggle to hear the difference between a tube with a few fractured strands and a tube that is completely ok and It is those few fractures that can become more, with carbon, and then it can just snap.

Curiosity got the better of me. I think we will be in agreement.

That is without a doubt, fubar.

Holy sh!t !!

You should go stick the pointy end of that fork up the mechanics arse and then follow his advice and bang it home another 10mm.

Anyway...now you get to buy a nice new fork

Now to decide if I get a full carbon fork or go for one with an alloy steerer tube…